“I could do that”(No actually you couldn’t): Beginnings of the Electronic Music rant, pt. 1

My electronic music rant is forthcoming; I wanted to do a little research first. In the meantime, here’s a related rant.


I believe that every critic should try to compose music once or try his/her hand at learning an instrument. I’m not talking a casual effort. Actually try.

For my part, I sang for most of high school and I made an attempt to learn the flute (Don’t ask me why) as well as the guitar. I’ve also tried my hand at lyrics and very briefly at composing. I have also made a hobby of covering songs and hiding them on my computer where they will never, ever see the light of day.

Because of this, you will never hear me say, “I could write a better song than that/ play better than that.” Whenever I hear someone say that I have the exact same response.
“Bring it.”
And if you do, I’ll shut my mouth and buy you a drink.

I’d like you all to take a moment and get some good headphones or a good speaker, or at least the best you have. Sit down and listen to a song you think is really fantastic. Not just the lyrics, but the sounds that make up that song, weather it's a minimal acoustic number or an ornate piece of electronic music or anything else. I guarantee you’ll hear the song completely differently. Even with a simple pop song.

To prove my point, lets examine a random song from the top 100
Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

Fairly simple song from the sound of it––it has a solid beat and catchy chorus.

Lets break it down:

The first thing we hear is the the drum work
Starts off simple enough, a strong, slightly distorted bass drum line, grows from there incorporating what sounds like an electric drum as well as a traditional drum kit.

While that’s happening we get a short guitar (two guitars, technically) intro, simple, not recurrent, but it launches the vocals

 Next we hear some subtle vocals, no lyrics yet, but the vocals and the electronic components start up right next to each other (for the record we are looking at four layers before the proper lyrics start

Now we actually get the vocals properly (layer 5) witch are meticulously tied back to the drum work and some keyboard work (6) that pins down the melody.
Finally,the harmonies round out the vocals (7)

And I’m not even diving into the subtelties of the song or the balancing of aformeitoned components.

For the record,  this is the first 58 seconds of the song. Less than a minute and there’s that much to a simple radio song. Radio songs have simple formulas and tend to follow age-old patterns. That is not to say they are bad, but they have a familiarity to them. Even with that formula there is complexity.

Arin, you say, I’m not saying I can write a rock song, that takes actual talent.. I’m saying I can do that “wub wub, beep, scree” stuff.
Looping back to last week’s entry, I should add a note. People riff on the ‘lyrics’ to dubstep and other electronic music because there aren’t traditional lyrics and what is there doesn't function the way we think it should.

It is very hard to put the components of electronic music into words because strictly speaking they tend to be the same instruments, but I encourage you to do a little exercise—consider this your homework. (I’ll go easy on you. Listen to, lets use an electronic music classic, Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster,” and just count the number of sounds, loops and so on that are present in that song and the variations thereon.
Take Notes, I’ll wait.
It will sound silly—you’re dealing with components that are alien to someone who listens to traditional instrumentation.

Even as a critic, here’s what my notes looked like:
First you get something that sounds like a car starting. Then two dueling sounds come in–– a lower, slightly more warped that because the backbone for the drum work, and a higher twangier one that becomes the backbone to the lyrics and the melody.
The lyrics are VERY simple. They are the same words over and over, but they become wholly different elements with wholly different feelings over the course of the song because of how they are tuned or warped.

Now pull out your computer and download or open a music composing program (ther are ones online that are free) Just try to duplicate that sound, let alone make your own.

Now go back and listen again. Not so simple is it?

What We Talk About When We Talk About Genre.

When I was growing up, alternative rock and grunge were really hitting their strides. Gravely voices and down-tuned guitars were familiar radio fixtures. From that, music lovers of my generation gained a strong aversion to pop music, but I am hard-pressed to get a really solid reason out of people beyond “it’s dumb.”
I admit I had this same aversion growing up until a few pop songs leaked in to my repertoire during high school.

Let’s look at a few the criteria for the alternative rock in the mid 90s through today:

1. Heavy use of guitars, and bass.
2. Minimal, if any, use of synthesizers and electronic elements. *
3. Often motivational, strong lyrics designed to be provocative
4. More focused vocals—usually only one lead vocalist.

Conversely, let's look at pop in the 90s and forward.

1. Light, if any guitar work, almost no bass work.
2. Heavy use of synthesized sound.
3. Simplistic, accessible lyrics designed to make the listener feel good and/or dance.
4. Use of simple harmonies.

If the the criteria of alternative rock songs are applied to a pop song, then of course the listener is going miss the powerful lyrics, or the deep bass. The manufactured feel will come across trite and shallow.  Conversely, if the listener was raised on pop music, the gravelly voices might great on their ears, or the bass might feel physically uncomfortable.
However, if one takes a moment to hold these genres to their own standards, a lot more music suddenly sounds good. Example, Backstreet Boys don't make good rock songs. The music is too simplistic and the lyrics are two-dimensional. However, they make fantastic pop music, their harmonies, while simple, are very strong and and their beats are incredibly easy to dance to.

Conversely, 90s Alt rock classic The Goo Goo Dolls, would make a terrible pop band. No harmonies to speak of, one of the vocalists sounds a bit like a gremlin (which is part of h is charm from my end) and the heavy guitar work almost drowns out the vocals on some songs. However, they are an amazing alternative rock band. Innovative guitar tunings are combined with killer vocals and passionate, evocative lyrics to make a perfect storm. The lead vocalist also stands out brilliantly.

This is why I take issue with genre biases. I would have missed out on a fabulous show if I’d turned my nose up at pop music this past summer. I don’t even know how many rock shows I went to, that I would have missed if I’d turned my nose up at them.

Pop and alternative rock aren’t the only genres that face this problem. Time and again, I have to rationalize my love of certain less popular genres and explain what makes them innovative and powerful to me. This dialogue is part of what makes music so wonderful; everyone has an opinion, a pet song, or genre, and often takes if very personally if their music is insulted.

However, you can’t listen to the same thing every day and expect to have new music fall in your lap. It is imperative to sniff out the things that make you itchy and maybe listen to some songs that are just plain bad in order to find things that really speak to you as a listener. The more you grow as a fan, the more you sniff, the more unexpectedly wonderful things you'll find. In the era of YouTube and Spotify, there is literally nothing to lose other than time and the odd brain cell and there are literally thousands of songs to gain.

In short, keep your favorites close, but keep your ears sharp, you never know what you’ll run into.

Next topic: Dubstep and Innovation.

*for the purposes of this piece I don’t mean things like electric guitars and basses,  that's a given in non-acoustic music,  here I am referring to  things that are computerized and/or completely digital.

Music Wednesday/Announcement

In the sprit of updating this bad boy more regularly, I've decided to start updating every Wednesday in addition to my usual updates when there are concerts or albums these will include, but are not limited to the following areas

• Musings, rants and other thoughts on Music and related topics
• News and news related commentary
• Top5 or ten type lists
• Catch up––things that I’ve missed reviewing for whatever reason
• Youtube gems––both in the good and the really bad.
• Single/ song of the week reviews
• Blog updates/news/notes

In the sprit of this, here’s an explanation of my ranking system

First the basic numbers, I use a one through six system

1. You have to work to earn a one. I would hesitate to call bands/albums that earn this rank music.
2. Bad, but tolerable.
3. Fair, not bad, or good, just right in the middle.
4. Good, it’s the bottom end of the good ranking
5. Great. You have to work for a five. Five used to be my top ranking before a band blew the roof off of my system.
6. Phenomenal, beyond anything else I've heard. I've given fours or fives to most of my top ten bands. You have to be spectacular for this.I rate bands on different criteria depending on genre (see upcoming rant on genre), the band’s progression and, in the case of a live show, the quality of the sound system in the venue. I’m not going to fault a band for the venue having a bad sound system, but I will call them out on poorly tuned instruments. There are a few basics, however, that most of what I review is judged by.

• Instrumentation—how well tuned are the instruments?, how precise are they  and how complex/innovative they are while respecting the genre?
• Vocal quality (If there are vocals)–– Is the singer enunciating, do his vocals fit the song? Do the vocals keep in time with the song?
• Balance: Do the instruments and vocals mesh well  (Or are they pleasantly dissonant)? Is one instrument out preforming the others?
• Recording quality(on albums): While this isn’t entirely the band’s fault I still hold them accountable for what they put their name on.
• Have they improved since their last album/show?(if there was one) Are they innovating or stagnating as a band? While this is a hard one, I don’t feel it's fair to put, for example, a really young band’s first album up against a seasoned band’s fourth album.
• Not a criterion per se, but I should throw in that I review bands based on the sound, performance and/or album, not the band itself. It’s not personal.

There are tons more criteria, but these are some basic components of what I look at.

Album Review: Sick Puppies --Connect--

(3.5/6)
Lead Vocalist, Shimmon Moor, has always had a sexy voice that is frank and rugged. On past albums, his very solid, aggressive tenor range gave the songs a hopeful tone.  On Connect More demonstrates his low sexually charged range. When he strikes a passionate note his voice becomes a velvet and steel growl that really brings an edge to his work.

Bassist Emma Anzai takes a few tentative steps into the limelight on this album. Her  wicked talent that hasn't been seen in years she dominates the low end of everything she plays on. She has been dubbed the female ‘Flea.’ On Connect we hear of her whispery, alto voice.. Looking at her with jet black, shaggy edged hair wielding the bass like a weapon you'd expect a Joan Jett fearsome voice. On the contrary, her voice is soft and smooth and complements Moor’s velvety sound perfectly. She still sounds shy as she’s ever been, but on Connect, we start to hear a little more bravery. I have every confidence that once she relaxes into the role she will explode.

Mark Goodwin’s drum work is the rope that ties the album together; it is both subtle and consistent.

The lyrics are, as always, wonderfully provocative and sharp. Where things fall apart is  in the delivery. I expected their passionate, die-trying attitude, and was met with something that fell just shy of it in many of the songs. I feel like part of their problem is that the band is feeling around stylistically. They need to regroup and hone their sound.

From an overall album standpoint, the album is really hit or miss. There are some fantastic songs on Connect, but there are also several that are stylistically clumsy and don't seem to fit on the album. However, there is an overproduced tone that permeates the album
That being said, I feel that the solid songs out weigh the unsteady ones.

Overall a solid, not amazing album, especially when held up against their previous works. I liked it, but it wasn't as magical.

Everybody's Talking: Neon Trees at Taste of Chicago (Grant Park)

Grant Park: (3/6) With it’s stellar view of Lake Michigan and  the majestic Buckingham Fountain adoring it, Grant park is beautiful. However, it makes terrible festival grounds. Grant Park has some of the worst traffic flow I've ever seen. There are no paths and the grounds sprawl over multi-block section of Columbus Drive. The Park’s propensity toward attracting multi-stage events make for a nigh impossible to navigate mess.

The Petrillo Music Shell Pavilion(The Stage):  (4/6The sound was surprisingly good for an outdoor stage, I was impressed. It loses points for being in direct sunlight to the point of making it hard to see the stage.

Neon Trees(4/6):

What continues to impress me about this little band is how far they've come. The first time I saw them live I completely wrote them off, they had a terrible live show. Every show of theirs I’ve seen has been better than the last. They've also become a much more cohesive band with a smoother dynamic.

Vocalist, Tyler Glenn is beyond energetic with a style reminiscent of both Freddie Mercury and Billy Idol. Loud in both personality and style Glenn is boldly himself. He has learned to harness and control the chaotic energy that radiates from him. Glenn has also learned to really work with his drummer Elaine Bradley

Bradley is a great drummer and her work coupled with Branden Campbell’s wonderful slap bass, give Glenn’s tenor vocals a wonderful backbone that really makes the music come to life.

Overall, I'm very impressed with Neon Trees’ progress as a band; I cannot wait to see what they do next.

Summerfest day 5: Silversun Pickups, Middle Class Rut, DoryDrive

Summerfest day 5: Silversun Pickups, Middle Class Rut, DoryDrive

Stage: Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard (4/6)

I’d never been to this stage before despite coming to Summerfest every year for about the past decade as in years past it was the country music stage and country isn’t usually my scene. This year they featured al.t rock. I prefer the Briggs stage to the Miller stage as the sound system is better and the crowds, at least for this show, weren’t as bad.

I  did  something I love to do at Summerfest for this set, but hadn’t done this trip yet. camped out at a stage and just listened to the acts prior to the band I was there for.  This is how I discover new bands

Speaking of bands, on to the shows

Shows:

DoryDrive(4/6) As they were in the 6pm slot I did no expect DoryDrive  to be as good as they were.  They came out with an energetic, alt. rock sound, and a surprisingly polished style. They had energy enough to get even a lazy mid-evening festival crowd moving. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn these guys were a bigger band. Very well done.

I’m going over to amazon to get their album right now, and I’d recommend you do the same.

Vocalist Mathieu Nevitt  has a wonderful gravelly voice  and demonstrates good control over its tone.. He also has energy in spades and a willingness to push the audience into participating. I am definitely going to be keeping an eye out for these guys. Lots of fun.

Middle Class Rut (2/6) Between the tragic attempts at scream vocals and the interminable fret squeaks and the drummer who couldn’t keep time with a metronome, this band was terrible. They had a surprisingly strong following, which confused me quite frankly. Middle Class Rut did have energy, I’ll give them that, but their lack of coordination and style was not only out of place on that particular stage, but generally did not work.

They felt like they wanted to be punk and fell very flat.

Silversun Pickups (5/6) Silversun Pickups is always fantastic and is one of the few bands I’ve seen that can deliver a consistent, but still innovative show. This show was particularly emotional as it was bassist Sarah Negahdari s last night with the band. Just prior to last Summerfest, Negahdari was called in with approval from David Grohl, Silversun Pickups’ original bassist, Nikki Monninger, gave birth to twins. Sara was discovered in Milwaukee and has been adored by the fans. Her style and amazing talent and will be missed. However, as a fan, I do warmly welcome Nikki Monninger back.
I really felt like the guys treated her like she was one of the family.

Vocalist Brian Aubert delivers unique vocals and a manically quirky style that make him insane to watch. He is constantly energetic and has a delicious grin that is simply contagious. His guitar work is unrivaled and distinctive, bringing an unmistakable edge to the band. Add the wicked bass lines from Monninger and you have a nicely rounded, sharp edged sound that really pumps things up even during their mellower songs.  

The show itself was beautifully paced mixing their moody, slower songs with the controlled cacophony of their harder, louder songs.

Overall, a brilliant show.

Summerfest, Day 4: Immagine Dragons and Mother, Mother at the Miller Light Oasis

Day 4 of Summerfest: Mother, Mother and Imagine Dragons 

Stage: Miller Light Oasis (2/6): I have a love hate relationship with this stage. On the one hand it is the largest of the free stages. On the other, it is often the most crowed and the hardest to hear. Let me explain what I mean by crowed, because it’s not the kind have crowed that most people visualize. About twenty rows of bleachers are followed by two full rows of picnic tables in front of the stage. One would think this meant that the tables were a safe place to sit and watch from a distance.
One would be sorely mistaken.
Because of the popularity of the artists at that stage three is no casual watching vantage point. By the time the 8:00 set is starting the bleachers are packed with people standing on bleachers. The tables are double packed with people standing on the tables and benches By the time the 10pm set tolls around it is pure mayhem- in addtion to standing on tables and bleachers, there are people standing between the rows and packed around the tables. It is luck if you can see one of the three screens from the tables.
If you’re far enough back, you legitimately cannot hear the vocals at all.

But, if you’re up for the crush, it is beyond worth it.

The speaker system is in desperate need of a make over. The sound balance is non-existent relying on the bass predominantly and drowning out the vocals every time.

The shows:
Mother, Mother (4/6): I really got a kick out of the female lead vocalist’s playful sprit and the antidotes peppered throughout their show, however, the want to be punk style of dress and blasé nebulously defiant attitude didn’t have the effect they were going for. For punk attitude to work, you really have to have a balls-to-the-walls devil may care drive, they were too nice for punk and too blasé to be feel good. They talked bout being rebels and throwing a party in the same breath that they threw out hippy rhetoric, which did work. Where they fell flat was the total lack of energy, I could tell their thing was the disinterested but still rebellious attitude of punk, however they were just too placid for punk.

The guitar work was solid and they had an overall good sound reminiscent of the neo-punk movement.

Imagine Dragons (5/6): My vantage point was less than perfect for this show so It was a bit hard to really review their stage show. However, when a band has enough sheer energy to push past even the drunkest, least courteous crowd, that's when you know you have something magical.
And magic it was.
I knew I was in for a rock show unlike any other when I saw the two drum sets and one massive bass drum at the front of the stage. I’d heard enough of their stuff to know it was already drum intensive, but this took the cake.
The music had a pulse; the drums were palpable and gave the music an energetic drive that propelled Imagine Dragon’s already motivational message.
Vocalist, Dan Reynolds is also one of the drummers, which is a rarity. Not only is he a drummer, but also he’s a good drummer. And he doesn't sit behind the drum kit. Over the coerces of the show he ran from drum set to drum set by way of the massive bass drum in the center of the stage. In addition to high-energy drum work there were two other drummers who were equally talented and equally vigorous. Reynolds’ command of the audience was brilliant.
The band overall had a sense of coordination that was quite pleasant.
I had noticed all of this before the encore

And thin they played radioactive, their big radio single. And the energy was physically tangible. The entire au dance in one, eerily articulate voice sang every note down to the breath. It became a force—one mass of power.

That is how a rock show sounds.

I cannot wait to see them again.

Summefest Day 3: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers(Unrated):

I love seeing the really big time bands that have been around longer than I’ve been alive, its always a pleasure, especially when they still have enthusiasm.

I don’t judge these bands by the same standards. I doubt most people would be able to perform for half as many years as Petty has.  Hell, I haven’t been alive for his entire career.  The fact that he’s even on stage at this point is pretty amazing.

In a lot of ways, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers were the opposite of fun.(As in the band, they were enjoyable)

However,  there is one thing that I felt was very present in Tom Petty’s performance that  I’ve seen more than once that really bothers me as a  fan. Not as a critic. They get…lazy for lack of other word. If you’ve been performing for 50+ years, you don’t have to try anymore. On the one hand, this can often produce jam sessions and  some really fantastic solos. After all, they’ve been at this for that long, they’ve got to be a t least good musically. On the other hand, they don’t have to impress anyone. There isn’t that fire that a lot of grener bands have. Even in slower genes with mellower songs you get there’s a palpable need to  push, to create to give your fans your everything. That often isn’t there in older bands.  It’s sad. I’m sure it iss in part because they re tired. However, I do wonder if there is a degree of arrogance there. After all, they are one of the biggest stars our there, they don’t have to impresss.

This tiredness was very obvious in Petty’s performance.

I did enjoy the show, It was nice to hear some of the stuff I I’d know the lyrics to for years. I’m glad I did it, but I doubt I’ll do it again.

Road Trip Show: Summerfest2013(Day 1-2)

It’s that time of year again folks, Summefest is upon us!

Apologies for the long review, I meant to post this in two parts, but there were some snags with posting yesterday.

For those who are just tuning in, Summerfest is the world's largest music festival. (Literally, it’s in The Guiness Book of World Records!) It takes place in  the heart of Milwaukee, WI and brings in acts ranging from small, local talent to internationally renowned superstars. It’s an eleven day long, twelve stage spectacle with scores of local artists both of the musical variety and the craft variety. Jewelry makers, fortunetellers, incense, and cheep t-shirts can be found all over the grounds in addition to foods from the local restaurants. There’s even a kids zone (though if you want to see any of the bands in the eight or ten pm slots, you might want to leave the kids at home). It has to be seen to for the scale to be truly appreciated.

People come from all over the country, sometimes all over the world for Summefest. IF you’re a music fan and can get out to Milwaukee, WI, go. Period.

The Marcus Amphitheater : 4/6 I have a soft spot for the Marcus Amphitheater as I grew up with Summefest and the main stage was always a special treat because of aforementioned extra cost.  While the sound system is of course not the best the view is nearly always good and the two significantly large screens are visible enough and large enough that even on the lawn they are visible.

It’s an expansive venue that stretches that dominates one entire corner of the grounds and attracts the really big names that headline the festival. 

I love the Marcus personally

The show:

I did not manage to watch a full set weds day night, so this is the speed review section

 Edward Sharpe And TheMagnetic Zeros: (3/6) Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros had a psychedelic, lo- fi feel to it with a lot of country influence. Their sound was very innocent and a yearning for the past that seemed out of place in a modern environment.  While I understand that they are meant to be a mellow band, their lack of energy was palpable. I’m mot sure if i was simply the fact that they were that stoned, or if they simply did not know how to put out energy well.

They get points for getting the crowd to participate, but overall not stellar.

Avette Brothers (3/6): The Avette Brothers band took a few songs to get for me my mind around. It didn’t help that they took a long time to get their energy up and warm up. They had a surprising number of instruments that probably haven’t been on the Marcus’ stage often. They scored some pretty major points from me for the use of a double bass that the bassist actually carried around, not as in a double necked bass guitar mind you a classical double bass. And the bass got a solo. So did the cello and the banjo. The banjo player was particular good.

On the whole, they were good, but not great.

Violent Femmes (2/6) I wasn’t expecting much from a 90s one hit wonder, and they still managed to fall short of those expectations. While I have no problems with a band being stoned/high/drunk on stage, they have to be able to preform well enough to give a good show. The band has to really be terrible to make me leave 20 minutes in. I did. They get a point for the fact that it was somewhat coherent. Even the solos were just terrible. It was bad enough that I was seriously wondering if there was something in their style that I was missing and they were somehow making that sound on purpose. Given that the album I recall from when I was younger did have a “stoner rock’ feel I’m still not sure.

Day 2:

Fun with Walk the Moon and Family of the Year at the Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee WI

Family of the Year: (2/6) I had some issues with reviewing them as the first band in a set is often the sound check band and the bass was *atrociously* off. I find it's a common thing to overdo the bass in order to compensate for weak middle end.

It never works.

The lead vocalists had absolutely no energy to speak of.  If a band is first line opener energy is often you’re only tool. You need to give it everything or you will fall flat on your face. They were aiming for that same lazy sound that the above bands had. They sounded lo-fi, nebulously out of place in time and Sleepy. They were also far too wholesome for my taste and no energy to speak of. They would have fit right in a few decades ago as a first tear at a big festival, they seem out of place in time and not in the nostalgic way.

The lyrics were repetitive and felt like they would have been more appropriate for a child’s venue.

Walk the Moon (3/6): In keeping with the semi-retro feeling of the past couple days, they have a lot of 80s influent and a solid, bouncy feeling. It was something easy to dance to. However, Walk the Moon took a significant effort to warm up. Innately they were clumsy and musically disorganized. They had one thing that a lot of younger bands  don’t-- they had the ability to  re-collect themselves. I could see the bassist gesturing to the sound guy and had a very good sense that they were putting the effort and taking the opportunity to tour with a bigger band seriously

Still not the greatest band I’ve heard, but far from the worst.

Credit where its due for the amount of crowd interaction they got, and actually getting the audience going. Even second tier openers often have issues getting a dedicated crowd motivated. I was impressed to see the number of fans there to see them explicitly.

Not bad

Fun. : Give me a second; I need to get my story straight.

(5/6)-- I feel like I’m eating my words in a lot of ways. I’ve been a bit non-pulsed  by fun, but the songs of theirs I do like  I love.  I saw them last year at one of the free stages and they were only fair and nearly inaudible due to some technical issues.  However, even then I could sense lead vocalist Nate Ruess’ endearing, shyness.

Last night, however, Ruess was charmingly awkward and insanely energetic. He was the capstone to an excellent night

This year, I think fun really found their stride. The energy was amazing and they very much lived up to their name. The show was, well, fun. It also captured that phase a lot of bands have when they rise to fame quickly.  There’s a particular, mind blown smile that i just love. It happens when the sheer wonderment that the massive audience in front of them is actually here for their band hits for the first time.

I don’t know what exactly what it was about their general feel but I have an instinct that we will remember Fun. for decades to come if they put the amount of energy into their next album as they did their live show.  I was also very impressed at the dynamics of the group. In many bands there is a lead vocalist and everyone else is treated as secondary. I feel like Ruess was genuinely affectionate toward his band mates and fans.

In fact, the overall genuineness of front dude was wonderful.  He also expended a ridiculous amount of energy, sprinting from one side of the stage to the other so hard that toward the finally he fell over briefly. It was unreal.

I was also impressed at the sheer number of instruments that came out per member. One of the members is listed on the studio work as playing nine different instruments, touring I think he reduced the number to four. Moreover, it wasn’t just for one or two songs, he was constantly switching off